Role of coastal engineering in designing resilient coastlines

Pacific Salmon Foundation has just released this very interesting presentation by Jessica Wilson and Grant Lamont, named ‘The Role of Coastal Engineering and Coastal Geomorphology in Designing Resilient Coastlines’.

Coastlines are shaped by the combined effects of water, winds, sediment, vegetation, and wildlife, and now – more than ever – human alterations.

Coastal engineering and coastal geomorphology focus on understanding these processes and designing to accommodate them.

Traditionally when engineers were designing shoreline projects, there was a tendency to want the shoreline to stay very static, despite the fact that it exists in the midst of a very dynamic environment.

In the Pacific Northwest, there are many shorelines upon which seawalls and rock revetements were built that have caused significant shoreline degradation.